Keith,

I will take your word for it that there's a lot of trash. I've seen areas get trashed before too, and I feel as strongly as you do about it.

As much as I dislike the types of people that are typical of the opening day crowd, the simple fact is that we NEED those people in order for us to have what we have.

A friend of mine explained this to me a few months ago: Fly fisherman and others that trout fish year round are only a small minority. The vast majority of the fisherman are the type that only fish for a few weeks after opening day (i.e., the meat hunters). It is these people that support the hatcheries, not people like you and me. Yes, I know license revenue doesn't go directly to the hatcheries. They are funded by the state. However it's a little naive to think that the hatcheries would get the same level of funding if license sales suddenly dropped off because the yahoos didn't get their yearly party in the woods. The state would percieve this as a lack of public interest and would divert less resources. That's why we need these people, as much as we hate to see the mess they leave, and how they act, we need them. It's kind of like how republicans need democrats and vice versa In order for us to get what we want, we just have to deal with them. I think it's a small price to pay for the great fishing we enjoy in CT. I find that it's actually more convenient to have them all out on the same day rather than spread out. That way if it really upsets you, just skip fishing that one day.

Am I making any sense here?